A Heart Yet to Be Found
by KIEROx
Summary: Ever since she remembered, Aya Ukami & Light Yagami have been best friends when they both moved into the neighborhood. Aya is a slacker, thinking Light is a major dorky smart-ass. However, she sees bad changes going on within her long-time friend- why?
1. Chapter 1

Students are finally free at the stroke of three in the afternoon. That sweet smell of liberty when you burst out the doors of the prison that's been holding you back ever since pre-school is just intoxicating.  
However, just because school ends, that doesn't mean the after activities and clubs would be ignored too.

"Aya-chan, I'm going to look at something." Light said, staring at a few bushes that were growing in front of a school building. They were a bit yellow, probably from lack of water. The school focused only on their academics, though not much of the students' surroundings. Aya looked at him and raised her brow.

"O-Ok... Do what you have to..." She stammered, peering at him strangely from under her thin black reading glasses, "I'll be here, sitting on the bench when you're done"  
Light nodded and went on his way.

'When nature calls, nature calls!' Aya giggled to herself and settled down on the redwood bench. It was nice, considering the fact it was the only one without gum under it. Opening her English book, she began skimming through the pages.

"Page 25... Page 25... Let's see... We had an assignment in the English textbook on page 25, section 17, column 4..." Aya mumbled, flipping each page carefully until she saw the numbers she wanted. From the corner of her eye, she saw Light walking back and forth, eyeing something behind him while muttering random junk.

"I really wonder what he's doing..." she continued talking to herself, deliberately igonring the uncertain glances the freshmen gave her. Normally, she'd scare them off, but today, she needed to finish her homework, "If he needs to go use a restroom, he should at least go to a stall like a normal human being instead of being so natural. Sheesh. Who knew he could be such a _hippie_."

A soft breeze blew the leaves around. Aya's short brown hair curled around her face, but she didn't seem to care. Without even looking up, Aya yelled to Light, "Light-kun! You should hurry! Your mom would be worried and your sister might end up bugging me for homework help again!"  
"Alright!" Light said grumpily, "I'm here, pick up your things and let's go home"

As she looked up at him and smiled, Aya caught a glimpse of a notebook he was holding. All she saw was the word, '**DEATH**.'  
The rest was covered.

"Hoi, Light-kun, what's that you're holding?" She asked.

"This? Oh, its nothing." He said, "Just some notebook I found near the bushes."

"... Is that why you went over there?"

"Yes. What did you think I was doing, Aya-chan?" Light asked and raised a brow, very quite curious if what she was thinking was similar to what he was thinking.

"... Nothing in particular" She said quickly and blushed. Guess he was taking care of a different business than expected.

He rolled his eyes and sighed, "I really wonder how you get to think like that."

"Well... Anyway, did you finished with your English homework yet?" Aya asked quickly, not taking her speech in consideration. She knew it was wrong anyway, but she wanted to change the subject fast. It was too embarrassing.

"_**Grammar!**_" Light snapped at her. He hated improper English. It annoyed him, but that was why Aya did it so much.  
"Oh **whatever!**" She laughed and walked out of the campus.

"Aya-chan, you should really watch what you're saying" Light said in monotone. Aya glared at him.  
"You don't have to critisize me, Light."

"Says you."

"Stupid bastard..." Aya growled and slammed her finger on the button as they reached an intersection with busy cars, zooming by.

"Watch what you're saying" Light mumbled, "Stupid ass"  
"I'd rather be stupid than be a nerd," She scoffed as a red light slowly popped up.  
"... Like you have a choice," Light said as they both crossed the street. Glaring at each other as they walked, he paced faster than her. That irked Aya, so she walked ahead of him. Eventually, it ended up as a competition to see who would reach their home first.

"One day," She started, "One day, I swear I'm going to kill you, Light Yagami"

"Same for you, Aya Ukami." He said curtly to her with his sharp eyes.

She snorted, "Like that could ever happen!"

Light leaned into her face and whispered seriously, "How do you know for sure?" 

* * *

Aya's fight with Light ended quick. Light was so strange sometimes... But they would still best friends by the end of the day. He had always been talking about not wasting time and keeping himself in tip top shape- Some dork!

"See ya tomorrow, Light-kun" Aya waved and smiled.

"Yeah," Light nodded, smiled smally, and waved goodbye, "See you tomorrow, Aya-chan"

She smiled and did a peace sign as she walked in the front door of her house. They were neighbors afterall. As she began to approach the steps, she began to regret flashing that peace sign. Maybe it was a bit too corny.

Anyway, so she walked in like usual and set her items away. Mrs. Ukami wasn't at home, so she went straight to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of juice. Turning on the television set from the kitchen counter with a remote, the news channel popped up.

'Sheesh, did someone die?' Aya sighed as she put back the container back in the fridge, but then noticed there was only a bit left. She looked around, checking if any of her mother's security cameras were angled at her position. None.  
Aya chugged the last few ounces of orange juice straight from the carton, then burped with satisfaction. Everything tastes better when you break the rules. And damn right, Aya Ukami was straight up Gee.

"There are 8 people; young children and their teachers being held captive in that building on my right" An announcer said with a shaky voice, pointing at a structure.

"A man named Otoharada Kurou, about 42 years and unemployed is holding them back as hotstage in a nursery." She continued.

'What a horrible announcer...' She thought, ignoring the statement about the hostages, 'It's obvious that she shouldn't have chosen to report this in front of Japan.'

"Oh well..." Aya sighed. "I hope those people inside are okay..."

"WAIT!" The lady yelled in panic, "The hostages are running out!"  
"What happened?" The crowd gasped.  
"The police are moving in!" She blurted, holding the microphone tighter, "They said that the man is dead!"

Aya blinked, "Wow."

"He died of heart attack!" One of the police said, "I don't know how it happened, but it did!

"Aya! I'm home!" A motherly voice called out to her. She turned off the television set and emptied out her backpack. Her notebooks and papers flew all over the counter, as if she had been studying for hours, "Aya, how was school?"

Mrs. Ukami entered the kitchen with a smile. Although she was about 37, she still looked like a college graduate. That was one of the things Aya loved most about her mom.

"It was alright, just a normal day."

"That's nice to hear" Mrs. Ukami said and set her bag to the side, "Did you hear about the hostages?"

Aya shook her head innocently, her lips sticking out like a child's and pointed at the notes she took in class.

"I've been studying all day, Mom."  
Mrs. Ukami raised her eyebrow, and picked up a piece of parchment from the floor. Scrawled across it was:

'F*CK YOU, MR. WANTANABE!... will that get me an A in English?'  
with a red angry bald man dancing around the borders.

"Well, I might have snuck a little preview of television when I got home," Aya snickered, shrugging.

"Anyway, I'm glad that the man didn't hurt them," Mrs. Ukami rolled her eyes and chuckled, going to the fridge to take something out.

"Hey mom..." She started.

"Yes?" She was about to ask her what her father would say about the crime, but then knew it wouldn't be comfortable for Mrs. Ukami to talk about it.

"How was... _Your_ day?"

'Good thinking, Aya' her conscience whispered, 'but now we have to listen on about _her_ day.'

"It was alright," She smiled. "Light's father was a tad bit strict about not having chips in the offices."

Aya rolled her eyes, and laughed, knowing how dead serious Mr. Yagami was... Just like Light-kun.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Light walked Aya to his house after school for dinner. It was in the late afternoon when they went home. Nobody suspected a thing. Aya's mother had to attend a meeting, and so did Light's father. Aya's mother and Light's father worked at the same departments as police officers in Japan.

"Here, let me carry your bag for you, Aya," Light muttered, watching the way she trudged around the cracked sidewalk, trying to balance herself. It was almost like watching a penguin with one foot waddle on cracking ice.

"No!" Aya insisted, shaking her head and retracting her bag from him, "It's _fine_!"

Her backpack was loaded with numerous textbooks, papers, files, folders, and her lunch. With one hand, she held a dark blue suitcase filled with notebooks and stationary. In the other, she held a roll of poster paper.

"Fine..." Light said, "But don't come begging to me if you need help"

Light was obviously lying. He was always joking whenever he said that. Aya learned that the hard way, in their childhood. One time, he tried helping her uncap a new water bottle. She refused to have a boy help her, so she attempted to unscrew it herself. Light walked away, not furious, but slyly and said the exact same words:  
**"Fine, but don't come begging to me if you need help."**  
Minutes later, with no success, Aya started crying, knowing that she would never get the bottle open without her friend's help.

"You know I won't fall for that." Aya sputtered, crossly recalling the embarrassing memories, "You know you'll help me if I just ask you to."

"Yes," Light said, "But would it hurt you to ask _nicely?_"

Her jaws slightly dropped.

"I _do_ ask nicely, Light-kun!"

Was she telling the truth?  
Light shook his head in disagreement.

"If you ask me to kill you in suicide, I know you won't ask nicely. You'd just demand it."  
"Why would I ask for that? Suicide is for idiots!" Aya said crossly, "It doesn't solve anything!"

Was it true? _Did_ suicide solve anything?  
Aya thought about suicide often. She'd always take it as an example of what a sissy would do.  
According to herself, she wasn't going to be a sissy.  
**No siree.**

"Aya, would you just shut-up?" Light said, "I was only kidding."  
"Fine, Yagami Raito-kun" Aya snapped, "If you want me to shut-up so bad, then why don't you just stop listening?"

He seemed to not hear her.  
"Are you listening to me?" She raised her fist in the air.  
No response.  
Light just kept on walking.

'She told me not to listen, why is she not realizing it? Dumb-ass...' He frowned to himself.  
Light and Aya walked in silence. Talkative pair, huh?

"Were you listening?" She asked impatiently.  
"You told me not to listen-" He spoke.  
"Then you admit that you were listening!" She shouted in victory, pointing at Light. He frowned and mummbled, "Childish people these days... What medicine are their parents giving them?"

"Par-_ent_" Aya corrected him.  
"Oh, I'm sorry" He frowned solemnly. Mr. Ukami passed away when they were only in primary school. Light didn't remember him much, but he did know that he was a good man. When they reached the door, he took out his house keys

Aya blinked in suprise.

'What the hell is it now?' He became exasperated, 'Why the hell is she like that?'

"How lucky of you!" She stared at the silver key Light was holding. He looked at her with a confused expression as he slowly turned the object after he injected it into the golden slot of the wooden door.

"What? The key?" He sighed, "What's so fascinating about a key?"

Aya nodded.  
"I don't use keys," She said, "Okaa-san thinks keys are useless and anyone can break in at any rate when you're using one."

Yagami-kun rolled his eyes. "If you give the stupid idiot the key, he comes into your house and steals. All you have to do, is not to give anyone the key!"

"We know that!" She persisted, making a face, "But there's that damn keyhole! So instead of using keys, we use an alarm-based security system"  
Light stopped what he was doing and his hand was set firmly on the knob.

"What the hell? Why is your mother so protective?" He shook his head, "Crazy spy lady..."  
She sighed, "Yeah... So everytime I forget the code, I tend to climb through your backyard and over that dumb pointy fence of our's-"

"You WHAT?" Light forgot about the door to turn and yell at her. He was furious, "Are you the reason why our hose broke?"  
She flinched as sweat ran down her face. "No! No! I swear, it wasn't me! It was that darn garden shovel which made me fall and-"

"So it was _YOU!_" Light shouted and pointed at her accusingly.  
Aya's face turned as white as the outside of her house. Her hair stuck out as if lightning shock her in a violent storm and her hands trembled like a child's first time experiencing a power outage.

"I had to replace that damn thing with my own money," He roared as wind blew through Aya's hair.

"I'M SORRY!" She cried, begging on her knees for yet, another acceptance of apology, "I didn't know! I just wanted to go home and drink from the orange juice carton without my mom knowing!"

"**DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH IT COSTS TO REPLACE IT?**" He yelled. His companion stopped crying and paused.

"Actually, I don't. How much _did_ it cost-"

Light didn't wait for her to finish, he whispered her the price.

"WOAH!" She jumped, "Are you serious, Yagami-kun?"  
He took deep breaths. I guess he's not intending to answer her.

"Is everything alright?" Light's younger sister opened the door.  
Aya immedietly jumped up and hugged Sayu.

"Sayu-chan you've grown!" She squealed. Yagami Sayu sighed, knowing how dangerous Aya could be in this stage.

"If you hug me any harder," She started, "I won't be able to breathe."

"Well... You should at _least_ be thankful that someone actually hugs you!" She took a second to glare at Light.

"Unlike _somebody_ in the family!"

He rolled his eyes, "Hugging's for sissies."

Aya interrupted and yelled, "I AM_** NOT**_ A SISSY! YOU KNOW WHAT? I HOPE YOU GET LOCKED UP FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE: **SINGLE AND UNHAPPY!**"

Here we go again. They played like animals, they play pretend. 

* * *

"Wow, that was a great dinner!" Aya laughed, falling backwards onto Light's unusually soft bed. Her friend didn't say a word, and went to his desk to study.

"You still have to do your homework, Aya." He rolled his eyes, "And of course you liked the dinner- They were dumplings."

She laughed and said, "Well, you know me too well, Light. I absolutely love gyoza. Oh, and I've already finished my homework. You don't have to worry."

"I wasn't worrying," Light mumbled as he twirled his black mechanical pencil. In the corner of his friend's eye, she spotted a magazine thrown outside of his little book case. She then got up to see what it was. Once she saw the title, a crash was heard.

"Nani? You read... PORNO?" She did an anime fall, waving the book in the air. Light turned red angrily and snatched it from her sneaky hands. Scolding her as he pushed the book in its rightful place, Aya held her stomache and laughed.

"I never knew you were that kind of person! You've changed so much! You used to think women were icky!" She covered her eyes. Right then, the telephone rang. Her best friend went to pick it up.

"Hello?" He answered the phone.

_"Oh, hello Light. Its Mrs. Ukami. Could you please tell Aya to come back over? I need to give her something that needs to be delivered."_

"Right away ma'am," Light said politely and set the receiver on the table gently.

"Aya, your mom says that she has something that needs to be delivered back at your house," He informed Aya.

"Mmm. Okay, Light."

She smiled and walked out of the door.  
Light went back to the phone and said, "She's on her way, Ukami-san."

_"Arigatou, Light-kun."_

***Oh, it seems like that friend of your's is very close to you.* **  
Light turned around with his eyes closed. "Ryuk, of course she is. We've been together since we were children." **  
*Ah, gomen. I've only known you since the day before.***  
Light rolled his eyes, "But, I've already told you, Ryuk."

"Light-kun!" Aya laughed, creaking the bedroom door open. Light stared at Ryuk and glared at him. That was fast, too fast. Light forgot that Aya could run a mile in four minutes, flat. Going from his house to her's would be done in lightning speed.

"Hide!" He hissed. The shinigami shook his head 'no'.  
**  
*She won't see me. I swear. Don't sweat it, and don't worry.***

Aya went into the room with a basket full of apples.

"Okaa-san wanted me to bring apples over. Our tree in the backyard has a whole ton of `em- Maybe more than a ton actually."

***Eh? Apples?***

'What the hell?' Light thought as he watched the shinigami stare at the basket awkwardly and reached out for one as Aya turned around to face Light. Popping the red fruit into his mouth, he slightly jumped in delight.

***Why, the apples in the mortal world are so... Delicious!* **

"I should get going now, Light," Aya said, grabbing her back pack which was beside Ryuk.

"I'll see ya tomorrow."

"Ah. Sure," Light smiled, "But before you leave..."

He grabbed her arm and twirled her, making Aya end up facing his chest.

"Good night." He said, kissing her forehead.  
She scoffed repulsively, feeling nothing from the kiss, "Bastard, save it for your porno."


	3. Chapter 3

__

err, this chapter is kind of awkwardly written.

Her daughter tried to stay up late in the night, waiting for her mother to come home. They were quite close, you know; clutching onto each other after the death of Mr. Ukami and bearing the hardships they went through after that. The rent, the taxes, finding jobs, college funds- Those were only

a part of the problem.

"I pray to you, God sir," She whispered, holding her blanket nervously. Aya didn't have many conversations with Him, "Please let Light's father live."  
She didn't tend to sleep after that. Flipping and flopping on her mattress, the only child went deep in thought.

'What if my mother died? How would I bear the feeling? I would commit suicide... No, suicide is for idiots... Right?' She got up from her bed and walked down the hallway, twiddling her fingers to get something that would cool her down.  
Her mother's eyes were sensitive to light, so they had the house painted in dark colors. The hallways were gray and crimson. Positioned in the middle of the long carpeted way was a grandfather clock, the one Mr. Ukami was always so fascinated with. When Aya was younger, she and her father would go out for a stroll in town. There was a pawn shop they would always stop by. Mr. Ukami admired the expensive clock, but hadn't had enough to purchase it. Eventually, after his tragic death, Mrs. Ukami took the liberty to buy it in memory of her beloved husband despite paying off debts.

"Everything's going to be fine... Really... You just have to have hope... Right?" She comforted herself, turning on the television set with a glass of warm milk. This time, she didn't drink from the carton. She refrained herself from trying. The entire neighborhood was quiet. She didn't even hear the blaring sounds of japanese drama from the program Sayu watched or the scolds Mrs. Yagami gave to her children next door. Three large windows were built near the TV like a three-way mirror. All were closed- except one, which was hardly opened. After watching some anime, Aya couldn't lift her lips. No smile, giggle, or chuckle came out of her lifeless mouth when Naruto did his classic 'sexy no jutsu'. Her eyes drooped with slight insomnia lines below them.

"I'm... so tired..." She whispered to herself, "I think I should... I should rest for now..."

Closing her eyes, she drowned out the tv volumes, not even caring about the electricity bills. With the last of her tired voice, she whispered to nobody in particular, "Oyasumi..."

***Oyasumi, neh? This girl is sure strange...***  
Ryuk chuckled, leaning on the television set.  
A slight breeze went into the room, as he stepped outside, carefully eyeing the sleeping figure of Aya. His eery phantom eyes faded in with the darkness of the night.

*I'd really like to find out why Light is drawn to her... Nah, he's probably just gonna use her. Keh keh.*

__

_

* * *

_

"Air, vous vivrez avec nous maintenant." A man with jet black hair leaned down onto his knees and smiled at a little girl who was holding a stuffed rabbit. ((Air, you will be living with us now.))  
The little girl gripped her rabbit firmly and spoke, "tes-vous mon pre?" ((Are you my father?))  
"Oui, et toi sont ma fille.", The man nodded and chuckled. ((Yes, and you are my daughter.))  
He got up and turned back to an elder in a suit, waiting for him to say something.  
"You will be her legal parent as soon as you write down her name on this certificate." The older man sighed.

_He then gazed upon the young child. "Nous manquerons votre prescense, Air." ((We will miss your prescense, Air)) _

_The little girl looked at the floor with a frown, then up at the elder with a bright smile and gleaming eyes. "Svp, ne pas tre triste. Je visiterai bientt. Je promets, Watari." ((Please don't be sad. I will visit soon. I promise, Watari.)) _

_She turned around, eyeing three suspicious people hiding behind the wall. "Near, Mello, Matt." She spoke, clutching the rabbit tighter, trying to hide her face. The three children walked out of their hiding places. _

_"You just had to call us in order, huh?" Mello scolded, glaring at a random direction. _

_"Sorry." _

_Watari rose his right brow, "You can speak English, Air?" _

_The little girl turned around and said, "A bit-ah, Watari. From ze, ah, vidjeoh games?" _

_He sighed, "Better than nothing." _

_Air looked back. "Will you miss me?" she asked. _

_Matt and Mello looked at each other and shrugged as Near was about to finish a puzzle, then stopped. _

_"I will," Near said, slightly looking up at her. _

_Air smiled. "Very well to hear." _

_"Very __**good**__ to hear, Air," Her new father corrected, "... I think that's correct." _

_She looked back at her new father and smiled, "We visit soon?" _

_The man smiled, "Of course."_

* * *

_"Your daughter has improved greatly. She has mastered all of the standards and the first semester has not even finished yet." Aya's principal stated as he grazed out of his office window. _

_"Good job, Aya!" The Ukami's praised, "We're very proud of you." _

_She did not utter a word, and clutched onto her old stuffed rabbit. _

_"Although she is quite young, I'd like to offer the option of having her skip a grade level or two." The man continued. Mr. Ukami stood up and shouted, "SKIP?" _

_The professor looked back, "Yes, sir. Skip. Nobody in this school has ever skipped before and we are quite shocked. Although we would like to keep_ _that reputation, I suggest you transfer her to another school." _

_The professor sneered. The little girl winced and clutched the doll tighter. _

_"It brings shame to this school." He continued, "To have a girl that carries a stupid rabbit everywhere she goes, keeping quiet and staying silent as if she's mute!" _

_At that moment, Aya's mother stood up. _

_"This school already has been put to shame, sir." She spoke softly, "We already decided to move to Japan you see-" _

_"__**Then leave!**__" He turned around and slammed his fist onto the desk and gritted his teeth. _

_Aya then slid her chair out and jumped out of the chair, turning around from the adults, heading towards the door. _

_"Sir, if you did not wish for me to skip, then why did you accept me right away in this school? No person would be so... light-headed." _

_"WHAT? I AM A FINE MAN INDEED!" The principal shouted as lightning struck. _

_"Not enough to get a girlfriend," Aya's father winked and nudged his wife.  
Their daughter ignored his rude comment, "I hear that the top students of the world are from there... I look forward to the trip, papa!" _

_Her father's eyes gleamed and sparkled, "Oh you'll just love it, Aya! Japan- the country I've loved and grew up in." _

_"Hurry along and go back to your chinaotwn," The annoying teacher sneered, lighting his cigarette. Mrs. Ukami clenched her teeth and fists. _

_"That's very racist!" She yelled, banging her fist on the desk, almost breaking it in half. Back then, Aya's mother was still serving as a policewoman. She was a tough cookie. Once the Ukami's stepped out, a second before closing the door, the mother held her middle finger up and stuck her tounge out at the principal. _

_With two words of devious remark, she snorted, "Bite me!"_

* * *

Somewhere far from the Ukami residence, at the top of a private hotel, a boy typed on his computer.

"Search for Ukami, Aya's profile in the orphanages files. Watari-san." He said, sipping his sweet tea in the darkness. His baggy eyes shifted, staring at different areas of his laptop.

"Right away sir." An electronic voice replied as a window popped up on the mysterious person's computer.

"Ukami, Aya- Born on May 15th, 1990. Also known as 'Air' when growing up in Wammy's Orphanage. She was adopted by the Ukami family. Skipped two grade levels when first started 3rd. Got kicked out of school in the UK and succeeded elementary in Japan... What a lady."

"Ah, thank goodness the profile provided her phone number. She could be much of use in the Kira case, don't you think, Watari-san?" The boy better known as L replied slowly.  
"Yes, sir. I'm sure she'll be overjoyed to see you again, L. Good-bye."

Before closing his laptop, he whispered, "Oyasumi."

* * *

"Okaa-san..." The girl tugged on her mother's sleeve as she slept as if she was a little child again.  
"Mmm... What is it?" The parent asked, fumbling around on the mattress.  
"Okaa-san... Wake up... Please..." Her child wept.  
"Nani? What is it?" The mother woke up and stared at what seems to be her child's face, covered by the darkness.  
"Yagami Light... His father... He's in the hospital..." She whispered, "The hospital called us... Mother... He had a heart attack."  
"NANI?" Kyoko Ukami san, the parent of Aya Ukami, shot up from her bed and looked at her daughter.  
"Yagami Souchiro is in the hospital? A heart attack you say?" A gleamer of light shined from Aya's brown eyes. "Hai..."

__

They were tears.


	4. Chapter 4

When Aya had awoke from her designated slumber that morning, things got off at a bumpy start. She struggled to sit upright and yawned deeply as a moan followed the breath withdrawn. The brunette stood up with her lazy eyes, still covered with the droopy lids, & scanned around the room for a warm pot of coffee on the counter like a broken security computer. She then stood up from the couch and slightly stumbled on the way to the table. Aya deeply inhaled the fresh and scented aroma of the liquid, then let out an exasperated sigh. She clumsily picked up a nearby mug and poured the coffee in it, still half-asleep. As the lovely smell of the drink went passed her picky taste buds, the phone rang and shocked her. Aya quickly gulped the mouthful of coffee down and ran to the receiver, then picked it up.

She spoke in a rushed voice, "Moshi moshi? Ukami Aya-chan speaking, how may I help you?"  
The person on the other line responded, "It's Light."  
"Oh, hey Light. How's your father?" She asked and crossed her free hand for good luck.  
"He's in a healthy condition, there's no need to worry about him." Light replied, making Aya _cheer_ aloud.  
"I'm so glad to hear that, Light!" His friend shouted happily and practically pulled the phone line away from the walls.  
"Yes, I'm joyful that you care," Light snickered (Now at this moment, she predicted the 'rolling the eyes' action.), "So how about we go to an amusement park today? It'll be fun."  
There was a short silence, and then a cough of laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! OH MY GOD, ARE **YOU** _ASKING_ ME, YOU LITTLE NERD?"

She spluttered, "Yeah, sure, I'll go!- Unless you shove me off the bus, then I won't."  
"No... Problem," He hesitated. Aya laughed and heard a soft murmur saying, _'At least, it won't be you...'_

_

* * *

_

"I'm suprised at your behavior, Aya-chan," Light commented briefly as he gazed outside the window above Aya's head. He had taken the aisle seat, and noticed the man that sat behind them, watching their every move. Bingo, there he is.

'Bastard...' growled Light, holding it in, 'You've underestimated me.'

In the meanwhile, he tuned his play-date's dialogue out. All he caught every now and then was:  
"Just watch out if I get car sick, Light-kun!" Aya smirked and laughed grimly.  
"I wouldn't exactly.. _want_ to..." He'd groaned in response.

"Riiight! As if you're never carsick! As if you've never been seen throwing up in public!"

"Oh be quiet, Aya."

She rolled her eyes and said, "If I'm annoying you that much, I can't believe that you're my friend, Light."  
"I can't believe that either," Light said in a muffled voice. She glared at him and punched his shoulder softly.

"You know you're my closest friend, you know it..." She said with less enthusiasm. Here we go again, with the damn 'imma loner' attitude. Geez. Aya had Light, the soon-to-be-new-God of the world. If she knew- If only she knew that he was the new God in the making, she wouldn't have to be so goddamn annoying. Bitch would _worship_ him, not laugh in his face and call him a nerd the next time they went to a friendly outing.**  
**A small sigh was heard on the seat behind them. The man was probably getting impatient, and waiting for action. Even for the smallest error, he could rat Light out anytime.

"Yeah..." Light decided to not go against the ferocious rebel sitting next to him.

"Hey Light," Aya started after a long period of quietness.

"Mmm?" His gaze shifted from the aisle to her. She continued after she got his attention, "Why did... Back then, when we were in school a few weeks ago... Wait, remember when we were translating the japanese phrases into english?"

He nodded boredly. Was she on coke or something again?

Aya went on, "Well, remember your passage was something like... _**My name is Tom. My innnocent brother was given a death sentence. I tried to avenge him. In the end, I didn't realize, I was a killer**_. Why'd you hesitate on the _**I was a killer**_ part? It's not like you, y'know. Has someone took over your mind or somethin'?"

She leaned over and whacked his head.  
'Bitch, you do that again, I'll write you down. If only you knew, you'd know to treat me better.'

"Ow! God dammit, Aya, don't hit me."  
"Gosh Light, no cussing in public you stupid smart ass."  
"What the hell! Think of yourself before you speak, dumb ass."  
"Seriously, stop cursing." She laughed and pointed at him, "Next time, say **What the **_**heaven**_!"  
"Fine. What the heaven are you saying?"

An old man butted in to speak to them calmly, "Child, please keep it down-"

But he was interrupted by a new character in the scene. Thank god. Light was getting worried he wouldn't show up in time. Boomed the voice of a middle aged man with a gun in his hand.

"ALRIGHT, NOBODY MOVE!"

It's show time.

"Light!" Aya shouted and covered him, "Don't worry, little boy! _I'll save you!_"  
"What the he...aven are you doing Aya?" Light grumbled in complaint, but then focused back on his plan. He had to make sure everything would go right. He wouldn't give it up for the sake of his friendship. Nobody needs that crap when you've got the power to serve justice.

"I feel like kicking that guy's ugly ass already!"

"YOU IN THE BACK! GIRLY! BE QUIET, ALRIGHT?" The hijacker demanded and aimed his gun at the two.

"GIRLY! WHAT THE HE...AVEN ARE YOU SAYING, GRANDPA?" He pulled her down harshly, causing a ripped piece of paper from his pocket to fall to the ground.

"Eh? What's this?" The man rose a brow and walked towards Light.  
'Sh*t!' The spy in the seat behind them thought and clutched the softness of the chair. The hijacker picked up the torn piece of paper, glanced at it, and laughed. His voice boomed all around the bus, and the passengers shook at his loud chuckle.

"Big sale at the supermarket or what?" He snickered.  
Aya glared at him, "Yeah, too bad _you_ don't get that many good deals on lotion. You look like you need a whole bottle or two."  
"You really piss me off, girl," The criminal narrowed his eyes and brought his gun up to their faces.

"SHIT! Light! I don't wanna meet my dad yet!" Aya screamed and hid behind her trusty worthy friend.. or well, thought to be trust worthy.

"Don't worry, _knave,_" Light whispered jokingly.

"Really, Light," she whispered, "You shouldn't be fooling around with a guy holding a gun!"

'If only I could write your name down,'

Unknown to everyone else other than the bad guy and Light... No, let me re-phrase that- Unknown to everyone else other than the bad guys, Ryuk emerged from the back of the bus.

The robber's eyes bulged and yelled, "AGH! A MONSTER!"

His trembling hand that held the gun switched targets, and now aimed at the ghost (Ryuk: *ahem*) or, ah, Shinigami.

"Liiiiight, what the fudge is going onnnn?" Aya yelled above the bawling ruckus.

"Fudge?" He questioned.

"It's a replacement for the bad f word."

"Whatever, you should really get down-"

"What the heaven?" She flinched and backed away from Light, "I thought we discussed this when we were younger- We will never ever be more than friends! I don't want your nerdy porno hands all over me!"

* * *

Meanwhile... Back to the mysterious room in a high above... errrr somewhere?

_Ring riiing_

_Ring riiing_  
"God dammit, when is that lazy girl going to pick up?" L sighed desperately, "I'm beginning to be worried about that Aya. She better not have gotten into trouble."

He shook his head and dropped the call and went back to his laptop in the dark.

"Aya Ukami, you might as well consider yourself lucky.. for today... Either my phone has gone loony or you have... Although I'm quite sure it's not the phone," He muttered to himself as he scooped up a spoonful of french vanilla ice cream

"... I should've gotten the chocolate... huh..." He murmured once more while browsing through the menus.


	5. Chapter 5

Our heroine of the story gaped at the gruesome view of the slaughtered crook. It was hard to believe that just a few minutes before, she and the criminal were having a joyous argument about skincare until he stepped off the vehicle and got flattened by a oncoming car. They could've been the best of friends... if he showered more.

"Holy cow, he's dead..." She looked over to Light and noticed that he didn't have the least speck of interest and glared at him.

'Really... Something's wrong with him. He isn't... My Light,' She thought to herself and looked back to the dead victim. His blood trailed a horrid scent of disgust, but that just cracked a whole lot of curiosity from Ukami san. What made him jump off?

'It's a huge coincidence that the man jumped out of the bus and had a car run over him... That's strange though. While we were on the bus, I could have sworn that we were on a seemingly empty road-' Aya thought again, but then stopped herself, 'This is like... lessons from Wammy's Orphanage again.'

Aya laughed to herself. Light Yagami, you're my only friend.

'That's not technically true... I have Near, Mello, and Matt, right? L's gone though,' She thought sadly, reminiscing. Her gaze went back to Light to ask him if they were still going to go to the amusement park-

"Wait a second, where's that asshole?" Aya screamed, slamming her hand bag to the ground. How dare her!, "He left me? What the heck? YEAH, SOME BEST FRIEND HE IS! JACKASS!"  
Everyone glanced at her and shook their heads as Aya plunged into rage. They took at least three paces away from her. The people had enough to deal with.

She marched over to a tall & old, yet manageable phone booth to call Light. Her mother was probably busy again at the police department, so she couldn't bother her while she was at work. That was the worst thing to do. Shaking her hand with anger, she stuffed scrummaged around in her pocket to try and find a quarter.

"Fudge, when I get home, I'm seriously gonna punch that guy in the fudgin' face, then wipe him out with a fudgin' lawnmower, then when he's out cold, I'll bury him alive in a fudgin' cemetary and tell his parents that he ran away from home and will never come back!" She screamed in fury and pulled out the coin from her pocket.

After several attempts to push the money into the slot, she pounded on the glass and yelled, "WHY WON'T IT TAKE THE STUPID SH*T?"  
She closed her eyes and pounded a few more times on the glass surface. "I SWEAR, I'M GONNA KILL THAT GUY!"  
She barked at her own reflection on the wall. There, she realized- It wasn't a 100 yen coin that she held in her twisting hand, but a simple 50 yen. Aya stared at her misfortune and fell to the ground on her knees. Oh 50 yen, why are you and 100 yen so alike? Except for that empty hole in the middle that you have, you are exactly the same.

"I am such... an idiot." She smiled sadly at the floor. A memory of Near, Mello, and Matt at the Wammy Orphanage flashed in her mind once more.

"Light's a bastard..." Aya sighed while she brought her hand to cover her eyes, "He wasn't like this before. In the past, I know for sure that Light was a friendly guy. Those eyes he has now looks like a murderer-"

She paused and widen her eyes. The news popped into her empty sounding mind, and she remembered the heading reports about Kira.

"Kira..." Her hand slid from her eyes to her chin in a thinking position, "Kira... Maybe... Kira has the ability to take over a person's mind? Light?"

She looked up in suprise as the mirror like surface of the phone booth walls reflected herself.  
"I haven't... I haven't been able to think so deeply about anything since Wammy's Orphanage... And my dad..."  
She laughed and nodded her head, "Call me loud and crazy, but next time, add _super smart_ to the end of that."

Confidently, she stood up and wiped the dust off her clothes. "Now, to get home... I'm sure there's a map in the phonebook somewhere..."

She said aloud and searched through the contents of the booth.

"Well, what do you know." Aya grinned, "I suppose it'll cause less stress for my mom if I were... To go back to my old intelligent self."

Before turning the pages of the phone booth, she muttered crossly, "I really wanted to get a cell phone, but mom said _nooooooo_!"

* * *

The Yagami Residence! Duuuuu na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na... umm... Light-TIMEEE!

* * *

*Oi, Light, why'd you leave your friend back there in the death scene, eh?*

"Because she's _very_ annoying. That huge mouth of her's is definitely overused. If I am to be the new God of this world, I ought to have some obstacles cleared out." _  
__***And you cannot use the Death Note on her.. why?***_  
"If she were to leave, Mrs. Ukami would become severely desperate, and she'd even kill to find out who murdered Aya, or at least why. Her drive is too powerful."

_***Ah, but if you hate her that much, can you just not do the opposite?***_

"The opposite?" Light rose a brow. Ryuk wasn't as smart as him, but every now and then he'd contribute something worthy enough for be taken under consideration. He was like his wingman... almost, but not quite. The stupid sidekick, you know?

_***You know... Kill her mother instead***_

The idea flickered in Light's mind while a large creepy grin gradually formed on his face. "That would be... Yes... Yes!"


	6. Chapter 6

The series is awkwardly written, once again. The title has not been cut off, in case you were wondering. haha. .;;

**

* * *

**

**Riing... Riiing...**

'That bastard Light!' Aya bit her lip tightly and refrained herself from kicking the legs of the desk in front of her, 'I f-cking hate him!'

She was in school. It's been a week since Light left her at the anonymous man's death scene. Often enough, she'd think about it. Why is it that boys don't have the _tiny_ ounce of guilt when they commit such a horrible crime? Like.. like cheating, or breaking up, or _ditch your best friend_ in the middle of the expressway?

"Ukami san, hurry," Yagami's strangely mature voice overlapped her own thoughts.

"YEAH! I KNOW! JUST HOLD ON, _OKAY_? I'M GETTING MY STUFF!" She glanced over at him with a face of stone... not stoned face, but you know, "You aren't my mom, you son of a b-tch."

"Hurry it up," He ignored her and looked at his precious silver watch. The watch that... seemed to be the key to everything for some reason. Light always referred to it, watching it tick every second passing by. What was he waiting for?

"You know, you could just look _up_ instead of _down_ to get the friggin' time," She sneered at him and quickly paced to the door that led to a students' freedom from the classroom, "I mean seriously, are your beady eyes too small too-"

Aya stopped in mid insult. Light stared at her with a new pair of eyes- eyes that seem to say

**God gets what **_**God**_** wants, and **_**I**_** am that God.**

Too bad. Aya wasn't going to give "God" crap for all the trouble she went through.

"Shit, do you know how much I'm pissed at you, Light?" She yelled at him when they walked outside the school grounds.

"Sure, sure," He muttered under his breath, trying to avoid her. What the shit, what the shit?

"Light!" She grabbed him by the shoulder, attempting to whirl him around and listen to her face-to-face. "Listen, to me! You. have. become. a. selfish. bastard! DO YOU HEAR ME? A SELFISH, SELFISH BASTARD! I get the joke! You left me alone during a field trip like a mom and her kid, har dee har har, boinga jinga boinga, BUT COME ON! The mother always turns up sooner or later. But YOU, you ditched me! What the hell is wrong with-"

He smacked her hand away and glared at her. The look on his face was made up of pure... Insanity.

"Don't touch me like you know me," He hissed, "You have no authority to talk to me like that."

The battle of his leering eyes and Aya's words of hardship was like comparing a fully loaded tommy gun to a wooden toothpick. After one last warning look, the only person Aya ever called her best friend, turned to walk out on her.

"YEAH? WELL AT LEAST MY LAST NAME AIN'T AS EMBARASSING AS YOUR'S, _'KAMI'_ !" She yelled at him once he reached the usual intersection when she was left behind a few yards away, "CAUSE IF YOU SPELL IT BACKWARDS, IT SAYS, 'IM A GAY!' YOU HEAR THAT, LIGHT? YAGAMI SPELLED BACKWARDS IS 'IM A GAY!' GOD DAMMIT, YOU LITTLE DEVIL!"  
He seemed to not even hear her comments. She stomped in fury and ran away from him, before temptation brought her back to threaten him with a good kick in the face.

* * *

"Moshi moshi, Ukami Aya san here. How may I help you," Aya mumbled wearily with a piece of bread in her mouth.  
"Ano... Ukami Aya san," A voice said in the other line.  
"Who is it?" She sighed and continued chewing on her fresh bakery filled with ham & cheese inside, "And for your information, my refridgerator is running, but I have no intentions of catching it."

"This is L."

"..."  
"Hello? Aya-chan?"

"Moshi moshi?"  
"AHAHA"

"Ahhh, thanks for the laugh, mister."

She said while wiping an imaginary tear off her face, then continued, "L is gone. Pfft. He's off livin' the great life we sucessors-in-line dream of. Y'know? Solving mysteries, and fighting crime... Yeah, that's the lifestyle o' Sherlock Holmes. So how may'I help you today, sir ?"  
"Iiye, this isn't a joke, Aya-chan."  
"Yeah? Prove it."  
"Fine, if you'd like to go that way, I'm sure you would."  
"Pfft, save yer talk, wannabe."  
"Hello?"  
"Yeah, what is it?"  
"Is _Air_ there?"  
"Of course there's _air_ in the house, Mr. B-tch-a...lot... ah."  
"Mm-hmm~"  
"Ah! Ahahahahaha... ha ha... ha ha..."  
"What do you have to say for yourself, Air?"  
"Not much, sir!"  
"Mm-hmm.~"  
"Fine, L. Why'd you call? I'm fourth in line, you should know that. Why me?"

She set her bread down onto the plate, "Or is it that you can't count to three and you skipped to number four?"

"Simply because you're capable of the job, Air. Also because you'll be useful in the Kira case- and since you were the nearest, I thought, 'why not'?"  
"Hell no."  
She said after taking a sip of water.  
"... Thought so." He said, "But you did not allow me to finish, Air-"  
"Great, the mind-manipulationing again, no?"  
"- I will reward you in the end."  
"Bribing ain't gonna work on me, L."  
"This isn't the Air I know, is it?" He muttered annoyingly, "This Air I am talking to just must be a phony. A fake. Yes, that's it."

She listened quietly through the receiver and sighed as L continued rambling on with his complex opinions.

"No. Just because I'm near you, that doesn't mean that I'll be useful. I want to try living a... Normal, is that what you call it- Life. I've just started to get my act together, for my mom, y'know? And I just want to show her that I'm a good kid with good intentions. I don't want to be involved with any of this crap."

"I see. It's a rare occassion when you speak so deeply nowadays, isn't it, Air ch-"

_**"Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please hang up and dial again..."**_

"Hello? L!" Aya said throughout the receiver, "L, can you hear me?"  
Nothing. Just a dial tone.

'This is strange. Why did the phone line get cut off so suddenly?... or did _he_ just hang up on _me_? OH **HELL NUH**! '

**

* * *

**

***Oi, Light. Why'd you cut off this line, neh?***

"I cannot always be there to explain things for you, Ryuk," Light glared at him menacingly with a hint of attitude, "I want to make sure Aya can't reach the police... At least, not until everything is in order."

***Right, right.***

"Besides... In a few minutes..." He smirked, "Her mother is going to reunite with her husband again. Isn't it sweet? Their first meeting in about five years."

***Hyuk hyuk. I see, I see.***

"So Ryuk, would you like another apple?" Light asked innocently and twirled his scissors. If acts of manipulation was measured in water, he'd practically be swimming it in as merman.

***HAI! HAI! DINGO! DINGO! :D***

"Well... If you help me with this next stunt..." The mischievious boy grinned frightfully at the ground, "I'll reward you with a whole barrel of apples!"

***Hyuk. You got yourself a deal, ningen!***

"Okay. What you must do, is... When Aya's mother drives through that path," He paused to point Ryuk the direction and continued, "I'll give her a written ripped piece of paper from the Death Note, then leave. What is written on the note will be a secret from you, got that Ryuk? Anyway, after that... She will then go commit suicide and thus, ending her own life- You, Ryuk, will come in right at the moment she reads the note. You answer the questions she asks, and the rest is self explanatory. Just go along with it- it can't go wrong. Got it?"

***Umm... Yeah, yeah. Sure.***

"Excellent."

* * *

"Oh! Hello Light. Nice seeing you this evening!" Aya's mother warmly smiled at him when he walked by.  
"Glad to see you home, Ukami-san," Light beamed back, "Oh! That reminds me, I found this letter in our mailbox instead this afternoon. I guess the mailman put it in the wrong box."  
"Well, thank you Light! You're a kind boy, you know," She sighed and examined his face for a while, "Y'know, your face... It's different. You're so handsome!- Growing up to become a strong man, aren't cha?"  
"O-oh, arigatou gozaimasu, Ukami-san," He replied.  
"Well, thanks for delivering this letter," She laughed.

'You'd regret saying that,' Light thought as he bid Aya's mom farewell for the last time, and started for his house, giving a signal that Ryuk's cue was to be soon arriving. He maliciously snuck back into the shadows.

Using her car key as a knife to cut open the letter, she managed to unravel the parchment inside. Quickly, she opened it and saw that it was neither a buisiness letter, nor a bill. Just a letter addressed to her.

"This writing looks unreadable," She mumbled, "The hell... **God has sent me a request to take your child's soul. If you would like for me to spare her, sacrifice yourself.**"

***Dingo Dingo Dingo***

Kyoko looked up to see the shinigami, Ryuk, with one of the apples from the tree in their backyard. His eyes gleamed with mischief while he took a bite out of the fruit. He chuckled and the vibrations of the laugh echoed inside of the mother's mind which was now filled with insanity. She took a step back. _He_ took a step forward.

***So what will it be neh?***

"WH-WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" Kyoko screamed and grabbed the gun from her belt, "THIS IS ALL A PRANK ISN'T IT? YOU'RE THAT PUNK FROM DOWN THE STREET WHO STOLE MY MAILBOX AREN'T YOU?"

***Gomen neh. I'm not."**

Her left shoulder slightly twitched, and the gun in her hand trembled, "STEP AWAY FROM ME! STEP AWAY FROM ME NOW! GO AWAY! _MONSTER_!"

***Oi, everyone calls me a monster. I'm a death god. God. of. death. Kusso, what a pain.***

"KISAMA! GO AWAY!" She demanded.

***You read the letter.***

Ryuk shrugged, not sure what else to say. What else was there to play in his part? Seriously now. He was curious, though, what was going to happen next?  
**  
*So who will it be? You or your daughter?***

Slowly, she set the gun down and gulped. "This isn't a dream, is it?"  
He took a moment to think deeply. He searched for a line that would leave a mark in Mrs. Ukami's mind forever- or, well, until she died. Same difference.

***Iiye. It can't be... More like a nightmare actually.***


	7. Chapter 7

Time skip!

* * *

A much mature woman walks around the streets of Los Angeles in confusion. This place isn't England. She wears a light coat with intricate threading designed by Versace and paid at a high price. Her Jimmy Choo stiletto pumps are worn for an advantage, considering her short height and small figure. The brown hair on her head probably drinks the sunlight, since it shines so much under the light.  
The ordinary citizens of California stare at her in awe, some doing double takes. What a beautiful woman. Is she a celebrity?

She sighs, and glances at her surroundings, hoping to find a nice hotel somewhere, and soon. She was about to be late for work.

"I really need to find a place to stay..." She told herself and looked around some more, "Near gave me the name of a reserved hotel, but I can't find it anywhere..."

Just when the classy woman was about to collapse on a nearby bus bench from desperate stress, a car honked at her from behind. She looked around and found a stranger with goggles waving & smiling at her. She twirled around. Maybe he was waving at the wrong person. When she realized nobody around her was paying attention to him, she waved back at him awkwardly. Guess he was talking to her.

"You needa get to somewhere, miss?" The man walked up to her and held her hand, "I'm sure a pretty lady like you shouldn't get lost out 'ere."

"Oh, well... I was trying to find a place to stay-"

"No need to fear! Just give me the name and location, and I'll drive yer there," He flashed a friendly grin at her and kissed her hand. He seemed familiar, but the woman couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"A-ah, a friend of mine gave me the name and address right here although I can't seem to find it..." She handed him the ripped piece of paper. The writing was slanted forward- baseline neatly scrawled in a straight line. Her friend was a perfectionist.

"Oh ~ ho!, not to worry. I'm pretty aware of this... Place..." He scratched his head. She sweat dropped. Should she really trust this person?

The young man in the goggles walked over to his car and opened the passenger door for her.

"Here ya go miss. Just step inside and I'll take yer there."

The woman flinched and thought, 'Is he... Is he serious? I mean! Oh no! What if he... and to... And... Oh my god...'

"Come on, don't be shyy~" He chirped and pushed her into the seat. He shoved her gently, but there was a bit of an impatient tone in his voice. Don't get me wrong, he was hot- but a pervert is a pervert.

She cringed, but nodded. What if she could trust this hot guy? Who knows, maybe they'll end up together and this was all a big misunderstanding and he's really a taxi driver.  
Shakily, she grabbed the seat belt and fastened it tightly. Oh! But what if he was a wanted criminal? What if he rapes her and kills her? ...And rapes her again?

**A few minutes later.**  
"That would be 5 dollars, Miss...?" He rose a brow and took the cigarette out of his mouth.  
"Etoo... Ukumi...," Aya studdered and handed him the money. Careful, don't give out your whole name.

She had more time to look him over now. Wild red hair hung loosely by the sides of his head. Steampunk styled goggles rested peacefully on the red nest of his head. At some points, she could see his black studded earrings behind his shaggy hair.  
"Right, right." He grinned and took the wad of cash from his pockets. He seemed to like layering his clothing. Sheepskin vest over striped sweater, brown buckled boots over blue tight sectioned jeans from-

"Calvein Klein," Aya said aloud consciously. She clasped her hand over her mouth and stared at him frightully in embarrassment. It was a habit for her to notice brand names and designer clothing.

The man smiled, the cigaratte in his mouth bobbing up and down as he did so, "Yeah, that's right. How'd you know?"

"Oh, the uh, stitching?" She replied quickly. Liar. She was too busy looking at his butt. The pockets clearly had the logo on it: 'CK'

"Well, I'm Matt, just plain ol' Matt. Y'know, you looked kinda... Kinda familiar y'know?"

She hesitated for a while, then nodded. "Of... Of course... Matt."

"Please, we ain't strangers, Miss Ukami,"

"Oh... Yes, right... Right..." Aya repeated slowly.  
"Hey, Miss Ukami."  
"Yeah?"  
"Is that your real name?"  
"Eh?"

He crossed his arms and stared at her through his goggles. "You heard me. Do I have to repeat it again?- Is. That. Your. Real. Name ?"

"Of... Of course it is!" She studdered.  
"Riiiight..." He scratched his chin, "... You positive?"

"Why are you still here?" Aya scolded, flustered with his persistence.

"I see... Well, I'm sorry for wasting your time Miss Ukami," He smiled fakely at her, but then immediately turned around and slammed his fist on the car in disgust, "Dammit! I really thought you were Air! But I guess that proves it! Thaaat proves it! You ain't no Air!"

... Air...!

He mumbled a few more words with his cig on his lip and fumbled with his jean pockets.

"C'mon. Shit, where are those stupid keys..."

"Wait! Matt?" Aya lept forward to grab his shoulder and twirl him around, "Matt?"

He smirked at her, and said, "Bingo! Stupid Air! You thought I'd give up easily like that? Feh! You'd fall for anything, neh?"

Aya smiled, her eyes tearing up. She didn't care about the drips that fell on her expensive coat. Hell, she could always spend her life savings on another.

"Matt..." She bit her lip and rested her head on his furry cream vest, "I missed you so much. I went back to look for you, you know?"

The lively colors of his voice faded.  
"Why'd you go back?" Matt said, throwing his cig on the ground, discarding it improperly. A hotel employee shot him a look. He stuck his tongue out, but then continued to carry on with the moment, "You found a family, didn't cha?"  
"They passed away," Aya frowned and tightened the grip on her friend, "I've looked everywhere for you."

"H-Hontou-ni, Air chan?"  
"Hai..."  
"Gomen ne, Air chan... I wanted to find you too but Mello-"  
"Matt! Don't call me that in public!- Baka ne?"  
"Hey, that's mean, Air chan!"  
"You're the one who called me stupid.."  
"I always call you stupid!"  
"Why can't I call you an idiot in Japanese then!"  
"Because... Because that's just **stupid**!"  
"Vous tes idiot, Matt."  
"Don't tell me I'm an idiot in French, Air!"  
"Non mi interessa."  
"Don't you **dare** say that you don't care in Italian!"  
"... Te kiero."  
"Now that's better, you Mexican enchilada," Matt whispered dramatically in her ears as if it was a deep thing to say. He slid his lips across her cheeks and kissed her when he found a landing spot, "I love you too, Aya."  
"... But I don't like enchiladas, Matt!"

"_Shush_! Don't ruin the moment!"

* * *

"Hello? Near?" Aya walked into the room and found her old friend playing with his multi-colored sets of legos. His droopy black eyes shifted towards the location of her voice, but then continued making whatever he was constructing.

"Hello. Air," He muttered as he worked at his monotonous pace and picked up a yellow square lego from the yellow pile, "I lost you at the airport. What happened?"

"Um, I was distracted," Laughing quietly, she crouched down next to him and stared wonderously at the shiny & spotless chunks of blocks, "What are you making?"

He sighed. Aya always treated him like a child. Can't she see, he's grown up now?

"A fort."  
"... May I assist you, Near?"

After a silent nod, Aya picked up a blue piece from the pile and began placing it on top of the yellow one, "Do these packages come with flags?"  
Near took the time to face her and shrug, then quietly resumed his attempt to complete the structure he started.

Minutes ticked by, and soon, hours walked past them. The atmosphere was tranquil and peaceful, unlike L's chaotic residence of sweets and such, Aya noted.  
"Have you spoken to L before he died?" Near asked, breaking the noiselessness time.  
"I have."  
"When?"  
"You know when, Near," Aya took a moment to smile, "After my mom died, I went to work with L for a while... But I decided it wasn't meant for me. It was too much to handle- no wonder I'm fourth in line by the way- I couldn't take it anymore so I packed up and left for England. You know when your instincts tell you what to do? Well, mind told me to find Matt again. And, well, after that, I bumped into you."

He rested his head on his arm and rose a brow at Aya Ukami, confused yet calm, "What couldn't you take it anymore?"

"I was a fool back then-"  
"We were all fools in the past, Air."  
"That's true, but I suppose I was a bigger one."

Her companion smirked and gave her a signal to go on.

"It was all so confusing. First of all, I didn't know whether or not Kira was evil."  
"Really now," Near said aloud, then picked up a red lego to connect it with the yellow one.  
"Yes. But L gave me an analogy to prove that he was, a bad person."

"What'd he say?"  
"**If you were framed by... Oh, let's just say... Misa Misa- for doing a crime you did not commit- you would certainly be in jail would you not? When you're in jail, your name shall appear in the news. Therefore, Kira would be able to get a glimpse of your name and murder you. Now what do you say about that?**"

For a moment or two, Near left his mouth opened to say something, but nothing came out of his throat. It was definitely certain that L's successor was dumbfounded. He ended up gazing at Aya with a blank face the whole time until he managed to say something. Was she this stupid?

"And how did you reply?"  
"At first, I didn't know what to say. But one thing's for sure, L had too many sweets that morning."

He stiffled a chuckle. A short, but satisfied chuckle.

"I mean, he _did_ gargle my whole vanilla cappucino from the coffee store down the street..."  
"I see," He said, taking interest in the conversation and rested his chin on his hands this time, "Please, do continue Air."

Throughout their whole conversation about L, Near stared into Aya's eyes with curiosity. What exactly has she been through all these years?


	8. Chapter 8

The city streets of the nice part of Los Angeles are wide and beautifully draped with palm trees. The subway stations are like hollow caverns, sometimes not even occupied by man. The escalators were still running, despite the fact there was only one person using it.

Aya Ukami looked thoughtfully at her bulky weekly planner. She flipped through the pages with a fountain pen in mouth, pondering how to move her schedule around in order to squeeze in special appointments. She threw her head up in exasperation and complained.

"Damn it!"

Her voice echoed throughout the man-built cave. Who cares? She was the only person there anyway.

"I'm booked for the next two weeks," She sighed sadly, squinting hopelessly at the long 'to-do' lists. There was no way she could find a good time to stop and sneak out for lunch with Matt. Or at least see him. Work wasn't getting in her way- work _was _the way. And that path just didn't happen to intercept a nice rendezvous with Matt.

She stuck her tongue out at the ceiling. They had painted a renaissance-related scenary above her, like at the dome in Italy. The clouds were wispy and curvy looking, with the angels laying on them as they smiled innocently.. Except one. One of them was pointing downward at her, laughing quite cruelly.

"Stop mocking me you little bastard!" Aya whined childishly at the painted one, "Bare asses don't make it far in this world!"

"Are you alright?"

Aya flinched, stumbling with a startle and tripped when she finally reached to the top of the escalator. She landed painfully on her butt and cursed. The two inch heel on her gladiator shoes had snapped in the process. Aya was still alive, but at what cost?- At what cost?

"Are you alright?" The voice repeated, a dark gloved hand reached out to her. It was practically shoved into her face.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Aya said, swatting the arm away. She almost cried at the sight of her useless shoes, "Damn piece of shit!"  
"Could you stand?"

She ignored him, for she was too busy mourning over her expensive footwear. I don't know who invented high heels, but women owe him lots.. & vice versa. Aya kicked them off in frustration, and attempted to stand with the help of the stranger. His arms were more steel than human.

"I-I'm sorry, I just.. had a bad day," Aya shook her head in a frenzy and gave him a sheepish smile. He had shaggy dark hair cascading down his forehead and from his sides. They were wispy at the ends, curling up to his thin jawline.

He was beautiful.. If he was a girl.

The corner of Aya smile drooped slightly.  
Damn it. He was prettier than her.  
Her eyes drifted from his chin, to his Adam's apple, and then his formal attire.

Lattice print. Silk.  
Definitely Valentino.

"Nice tie," She said, recovering and taking back her arm from him.

The man was examining her the same way.  
He arched a brow with cockiness and slight amusement.

"Nice bag," He bobbed his head a bit, "BCBG?"  
Aya opened her mouth to snap back at him, but stopped in time to save herself from embarrassment.

"Yes," She stuttered, "Yes it is."

And marched out barefoot, with the broken Steve Madden heels in hand.


End file.
